DRIFFIELD town council has decided not to lodge an objection against a plans to demolish the Methodist Church and replace it with a new building.
Several councillors have voiced grave concerns over the scheme as they believe the church is an iconic structure which is an integral part of the town’s history.
During a full meeting of the council on Tuesday, Coun Steve Poessl put forward a motion that the town council should object to a planning applications on the basis that the church stands within a conservation area and therefore should be regarded as a building of significant historic interest and should not be demolished.
He was seconded by Coun Tony Cooper but the motion failed by a majority vote.
Coun Poessl said he was concerned that church leaders appeared to have indicated that if planning permission was not granted they might move out of Driffield.
“It is like saying if you do not give me what I want I’m going elsewhere,” he said.
Methodist Minister the Rev Robert Amos said afterwards that while it was correct that they may look to build elsewhere should planning permission be rejected for the current site he added: “Not necessarily out of Driffield but look for another site where we could build on one level.”
The current church is regarded as no longer fit for purpose and is expensive to maintain – with heating costs alone running at £1,500 a month.
The current building designed to satisfy the needs of a congregation 131 years ago and underwent a major redevelopment in the 1960s.
Mr Amos accepted that the building could be regarded as iconic but he said it had presented problems for a number of years in terms of access for all and maintenance costs.
He said the scheme to demolish and rebuild was not something which had been “done on a whim” but had been carefully thought out, and the consensus had been that it was time to move on.
Much of the current church is no longer used.
Town councillors questioned whether the church had the money for the rebuild and although the mayor, Coun Joyce Fletcher, pointed out such questions were not a planning concern, Mr Amos explained that they were currently in the process of seeking grants and had “fingers in lots of pies” but planning permission was required to start the process.
Coun Fletcher said there were a lot of strong feelings about the Methodist Church but Coun Matt Rogers said: “There is no reason why we cannot be sentimental but it is their space and their money. If they want to knock it down and rebuild I think we should be supporting them.”
Coun Tony Cooper said that just a few weeks ago a member of the public had appealed to the council to alleviate the wanton destruction of Driffield’s old buildings and councillors had voiced concern over the loss through demolition of many historic venues.
He asked whether just a month later it would be hypocritical of them to support the Methodist Church demolition.
“It’s our heritage” he said, and he pointed out that in other parts of the world such buildings were refurbished and looked after because they were part of a town’s history.
Coun Poessl said: “I agree with what Tony said about old buildings. It may not be the prettiest of buildings but it stands out in Driffield.”
Coun Heather Venter said: “It’s a shame that if allowed to do it we are going to lose another piece of heritage of the town.”
But Coun David Credland said: “It is their building and they should be allowed to do what they want with it.”
Coun Paul Rounding said we now lived in a throw away society in which it was often cheaper to knock down and rebuild rather than to refurbish.
The final decision on planning permission will be made by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council.